When we were at Disney over Christmas, there was one exhibit that I nearly died over. And that was Cars Land, due to the red rock landscape. Seriously… take a look at THIS hand carved scenery. It’s breathtaking.
I’ve always dreamed of visiting The Grand Canyon, or Zion or anything in between.
I just never thought in a million years I’d be heading to a very close variation just a few short months later! Wow! Life sure is full of twists and turns in the most fascinating way.
So, before this entire trip begain, I threw out the fact that I was going to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City in a Facebook group.
And I’m SO glad I did! Because two of my blogging buddies and I began to plan an adventure that would take us away from the glitzy lights of Vegas and into the amazing desert.
Meegan from What Meegan Makes picked me up right from my hotel, and off we went to meet Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything at Red Rock Canyon!
So exciting to hook up with these two!
So when we decided to hike in Red Rock Canyon, I had no idea what to expect. But as soon as we fled the busy city…
I’ve never been to a desert before so I was pretty stoked! I was feeling a little Thelma and Louise-ish right about here.
Red Rock Canyon is about 30 minutes outside of Vegas. It’s like a loop drive… a one way curvy road winds you around the most amazing rock formations and hiking trails.
One thing that really shocked me was how quickly your scene changed. Even just a few steps dramatically rearranged everything before you.
It was picture heaven territory!
The vegetation was amazing and different! Blooming cactus everywhere you looked.
These Joshua trees are HUGE. I don’t even make it to half way their height.
Isn’t this incredible? The picture doesn’t even look real.
We even spotted wild burros!
Do you like my hat?
Hiking in these parts fools you. You think there isn’t much of a walk to a given area, but then you realize the layers are playing tricks on you. It’s much farther and grander than you’ll ever believe.
Loving the scratchy texture of the rock… well, lava formations.
Did you know this was lava? I didn’t!
Hey look! I made it all the way up into a Bugs Bunny Road Runner hideaway…
Whew… boy that was a lot of… Z Z Z Z Z Z
And then I couldn’t help myself. The decorator came out of me right in the middle of a hike.
“I think this would look better over (grunt…)THERE!”
Once we made our way more around the loop, the landscape started to change.
The red slowly changed into…
… every tone of tan you could think of.
And then I lost the other half of my pictures due to some strange smudge on the lens. Oh well.
I think you got the idea. It was truly one of the most amazing days EVER.
I’m so glad I got to see this little slice of desert paradise, just a short jaunt from Vegas.
And you know what’s next, right?
Serious group shot!
Um… yeah. We kinda gave up after a few retakes. 🙂
There’s so much more to come on this one… next up, I’m going to take you to the Las Vegas Neon Sign Museum. Junkers, you’re in for a real treat!
So… which canyons have you visited in these areas? Which did you like the most? You can bet The Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion are on my bucket list… next time for sure!
Visit all my Vegas adventures HERE.
O absolutely LOVE REd Rock Canyon! I am sure it’s awesomeness kept me sane while we lived in Vegas off and on for about 3 years. Valley of Fire is pretty awesome also, but about an hours drive north. Similar to Valley of Fire, just on a larger scale. Looks like something out of the dinosaur era. And Zion in the fall is just fabulous also! Have fun!
Lucy
We visited the Grand, Bryce and Zion…My favorite is Bryce. You have to go, it is amazing and different from the others. All of them are a wonder of nature; to me, Bryce was breathtaking.
Nothing like learning about my own country from a foreigner! lol The striations on the rocks are magnificent. I don’t think it’s a place I want to go. Too much tan for me! The cactus flowers were pretty, though. I like green better. I’m glad you got to visit. I can see you visiting many places in the future. Enjoy!
Oh WOW…I am gobsmacked…what an absolutely awe-inspiring place…I can only imagine how small and insignificant I would feel standing by those huge lava formations and the Joshua trees! So good to see that “The Joshua Tree” wasn’t just a cool U2 album…hehe! You got off some amazing shots, too, Donna…BRAVA! And when you mentioned the Road Runner cartoons, I nearly spit my coffee out…that’s exactly what I was thinking! Thank you for sharing this most breathtaking place with us in words and photos! I am soooooooo glad you got to experience this! Someday, I hope to, too! For now, I’ll just live vicariously through you! 🙂
Gorgeous pics!
It was so nice to briefly meet you at the SNAP conference! ..I’m the chick with the little yorkie 🙂 Anyway, after the conference my buddy and I spent the next week road tripping through southern Utah (I’ll be posting about it any day now if I ever get my butt going) and we hiked through Arches, Escalante, Bryce, and then we did the AMAZING narrows in Zion. I’m talking AMAZING. So yes, you definitely have to get to Zion. Did I say it was amazing!!!
Bryce Canyon !
Please don’t wait for “next time”. I know about passing things up because of schedule. If you can, do it now, this trip, this time. Situations change so fast. Next time is so amorphous. Leave nothing undone you can manage now.
Sherry, I’m a very ‘do it now vs later’ kinda girl. When I go somewhere, I aways add on a few days to see the nearby hot spot sights.
But I also knew my limitations this round. I couldn’t have done one extra thing unless I really extended my trip, and it wasn’t in the cards this time.
Kinda hoping to take my boy anyway… I’d love him to see it. 🙂
What a cool place to visit! I wish I had known about this when we went to Vegas several years ago. We’re heading to the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce later this year and I can’t wait!! I think we’ll sneak in a stop in Sedona, too, just for the heck of it 🙂
You definitely need to go back with your boy and see Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce–Grand Canyon and Zion are especially spectacular. Growing up, my family took multiple road-trip vacations in the southwest, and one of my favorite memories is sitting in lobby at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the north rim and watching a thunderstorm over the canyon– a sight not to be missed! The Grand Canyon is considered on of the seven natural wonders of the world. I recommend the north rim over the south rim, as the north rim is several thousand feet higher in elevation, which means it is cooler and greener (i.e.pine forest) in summer than the south rim (it’s also a little less crowded in the summer). I also recommend Capitol Reef National Park in southcentral Utah, another place of amazing geology and stunning red rock formations; and because it is more out of the way then the other national parks, it’s much less crowded than the others. My husband and I were lucky enough to find land near Capitol Reef and are in the process of building a cabin there– we will have gorgeous views of red cliffs and rock formations and forested mountains from almost every window.